Graphics Card Upgrade

[dbrook007]

Hi,

What would be a good graphics card upgrade to my on board Intel HD 4600 ?

I don't want to spend money to getting only a small step up from what I have now.

I want something that's fast at processing, plenty of on-board RAM and that supports at least DirectX 10 and WDDM 1.1.

I'm using Cubase 8 Pro, which requires Windows Aero to be on and makes use of the GPU for processing, so I need a card that can handle that capably and that won't strain.

However, I don't have a high budget. Is there anything up to £200GBP that could do this?

Thanks,
Darren

 

[boobloo]

Aside from the cheapest cards on the market, anything from AMD or Nvidia would serve you better then intel's integrated solution.

I highly recomend you read
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
this article is basically intended for gamers but you will get the general idea on which cards are good right now.

 

[dbrook007]

I did have the ATI Radeon HD6450 1024Mb Dual Head (Silent Fanless) , but the HD4600 outperformed it.

 

[dbrook007]

Will I need to upgrade my PSU? I currently have 650w.

PC is Intel Haswell i7-4770 @3.6, 32GB RAM, 3x 1GB HDDs, 1x SSD, DVD drive, TI firewire card, wi-fi card,
fans and USB devices: MIDI controller, firewire audio interface, external USB drive, 2 USB dongles

 

[Xibyth]

Will I need to upgrade my PSU? I currently have 650w.

PC is Intel Haswell i7-4770 @3.6, 32GB RAM, 3x 1GB HDDs, 1x SSD, DVD drive, TI firewire card, wi-fi card,
fans and USB devices: MIDI controller, firewire audio interface, external USB drive, 2 USB dongles

You will not need to for anything current within your price range. What are you intended purposes with the new card. I highly recommend an Nvidia GTX 750ti, inexpensive, quiet, and a great performer way above your needs.

 

[boobloo]

Please note before reading anything i write that i'm not anywhere near an expert. So wait for someone with more knowledge to answer and research on the net yourself before taking any decisions.

I think you mean 3 x 1 TB Hard disks not 3 x 1 GB

Also, i'm confused. Do you currently have a HD6450 or HD4600 and you want to reuse it??



First, here is a link which will help you decide if you PSU is enough for whatever card you buy.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm


I also found this PSU calculator
http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com/
Just input you PC components and whatever Graphics card you wish to buy and press calculate at the bottom.

Or you can use
http://www.msi.com/power-supply-calculator


I did a rough calculation and it seems your PSU can support upto an AMD R9 280X. I chose this card because it seems to be within your budget and AMD cards usually consume more power then Nvidia.

 

[dbrook007]

I have the HD4600

Yes, I did mean 3x1TB

You say AMD cards usually consume *more* power than NVidia??

Thanks

 

[Xibyth]

Please note before reading anything i write that i'm not anywhere near an expert. So wait for someone with more knowledge to answer and research on the net yourself before taking any decisions.

I think you mean 3 x 1 TB Hard disks not 3 x 1 GB

Also, i'm confused. Do you currently have a HD6450 or HD4600 and you want to reuse it??



First, here is a link which will help you decide if you PSU is enough for whatever card you buy.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm


I also found this PSU calculator
http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com/
Just input you PC components and whatever Graphics card you wish to buy and press calculate at the bottom.

Or you can use
http://www.msi.com/power-supply-calculator


I did a rough calculation and it seems your PSU can support upto an AMD R9 280X. I chose this card because it seems to be within your budget and AMD cards usually consume more power then Nvidia.

High power consumption is not a basis for good use or performance. Generally, it's something you want to avoid do to the heat high power components produce. The only exception is when a more powerful card is needed. Which in this case is unnecessary.

 

[boobloo]

From what i've read on the net, yes it seems AMD cards do consume more power but don't hold that against them.
I myself have an ancient HD 5400 card bought in 2011, the cheapest card on the market at the time and its served me well enough. Even now i can do some light gaming on it 4 years later. Get a 280X or a r9 285 which is more efficient.

 

[dbrook007]

The calculator comes out at 604w , which is quite close to 650

 

[boobloo]

Please note before reading anything i write that i'm not anywhere near an expert. So wait for someone with more knowledge to answer and research on the net yourself before taking any decisions.

I think you mean 3 x 1 TB Hard disks not 3 x 1 GB

Also, i'm confused. Do you currently have a HD6450 or HD4600 and you want to reuse it??



First, here is a link which will help you decide if you PSU is enough for whatever card you buy.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm


I also found this PSU calculator
http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com/
Just input you PC components and whatever Graphics card you wish to buy and press calculate at the bottom.

Or you can use
http://www.msi.com/power-supply-calculator


I did a rough calculation and it seems your PSU can support upto an AMD R9 280X. I chose this card because it seems to be within your budget and AMD cards usually consume more power then Nvidia.

High power consumption is not a basis for good use or performance. Generally, it's something you want to avoid do to the heat high power components produce. The only exception is when a more powerful card is needed. Which in this case is unnecessary.

I'm sorry i did not write correctly. I meant that even a a more power hungry card will work in his PSU. I did not mean that a higher power consumption was a good thing.

 

[boobloo]

The calculator comes out at 604w , which is quite close to 650

which graphics card did you use in the calculation?

 

[Xibyth]

From what i've read on the net, yes it seems AMD cards do consume more power but don't hold that against them.
I myself have an ancient HD 5400 card bought in 2011, the cheapest card on the market at the time and its served me well enough. Even now i can do some light gaming on it 4 years later. Get a 280X or a r9 285 which is more efficient.

For handling Windows Aero effects? that card is an upper mid range gaming card designed to run games at 1080p. At that point it's more than overkill, its wasteful. Consider the power bill, noise, heat, and additional cost of the card. He will utilize less than 4% of the 280x's capabilities at near double the cost.

The GTX 750Ti is even overkill, the GTX 750 is still overkill. Unless he intends to play games like Skyrim, Battlefield, GTA 5. etc he really has no reason to get a $200 graphics card.

 

[boobloo]

From what i've read on the net, yes it seems AMD cards do consume more power but don't hold that against them.
I myself have an ancient HD 5400 card bought in 2011, the cheapest card on the market at the time and its served me well enough. Even now i can do some light gaming on it 4 years later. Get a 280X or a r9 285 which is more efficient.

For handling Windows Aero effects? that card is an upper mid range gaming card designed to run games at 1080p. At that point it's more than overkill, its wasteful. Consider the power bill, noise, heat, and additional cost of the card. He will utilize less than 4% of the 280x's capabilities at near double the cost.

The GTX 750Ti is even overkill, the GTX 750 is still overkill. Unless he intends to play games like Skyrim, Battlefield, GTA 5. etc he really has no reason to get a $200 graphics card.

Well i guess you are right . As i said before i'm no expert. But if i had that much budget i'd still go for the best i could get within my budget.

 

[boobloo]

Xibyth makes a good point. If you don't play games etc get a Nvidia GTX 750ti or an equivalent AMD card if you can find it cheaper. You'll save some money and not have to worry about heat, power etc.

 

[dbrook007]

No, I don't play games. However, the Cubase 8 Pro engine requires Windows Aero and also offloads processing to the GPU. The HD4600 is not good enough for this. So, not being a graphics card expert, I need an upgrade from the HD4600 that has plenty of RAM and that fast processing so it can handle whatever the new engine in Cubase 8 throws at it. Unfortunately, Steinberg refused to make any specific recommendations over their basic system requirements.

 

[dbrook007]

No, I don't play games. However, the Cubase 8 Pro engine requires Windows Aero and also offloads processing to the GPU. The HD4600 is not good enough for this. So, not being a graphics card expert, I need an upgrade from the HD4600 to a card that has plenty of RAM and that fast processing so it can handle whatever the new engine in Cubase 8 throws at it. Unfortunately, Steinberg refused to make any specific recommendations over their basic system requirements.

Do I need to upgrade the PSU if the calculator is giving 604w?

I though optimal load was 50-70%? >90% can't be good ??

The cards I used on the calculator were nvidia gtx 750ti and amd r9 280x

 

[dbrook007]

These calculators give very different results.

This one:

http://support.asus.com/powersupply.aspx?SLanguage=en

Says I need a 900w PSU

 

[dbrook007]

Here's the details I entered into the calculator

Intel 4770 Haswell
32GB RAM (4xDDR3)
Socket 1150
1x DVD R/W
4x 1TB HDD
1x Samsung SSD

1 Wifi card
1 TI Firewire card

1 Firewire device (Saffire Pro 14) (powered from PC via Firewire)

On USB:
Keyboard
Mouse
iLok Dongle
Cubase Dongle
1 MIDI Controller (Roland A49)
1 Memory Stick (only when needed)
1 Seagate External HDD (separate power supply)

Current PSU has a fan, CPU fan, and two case fans

 

[dbrook007]

Also, it has occurred to me that I want to be able to use two monitors in the future... so I'd need a card that supports that too

 

[jerdle]

Take a look @ this: http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202096&cm_re=r7_265-_-14-202-096-_-Product

Well under your budget and does everything you're asking for.

 

[boobloo]

Xibyth stated above that windows Aero effects requires very little GPU horsepower and even a low end Graphics card would handle that sufficiently. However, since you state that


"the Cubase 8 Pro engine requires Windows Aero and also offloads processing to the GPU"


If you are sure about this then make a compromise. I suggest, in this case, an AMD 270 or R7 260 or an Nvidia equivalent. It would support mutl monitor setup in the future, well within your budget, and uses less power.


The requirements you have put forward are very specific and i suggest you post a query to the software vendor for further guidance.

 

[boobloo]

And be careful about the PSU. If you are in doubt get a bigger PSU so you don't damage your PC. better safe then sorry.